Step by Step Guide to Building a ConnectWise Manage API Integration in Go

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of ConnectWise Manage API integration using Go? You're in for a treat. This guide will walk you through the process of building a robust integration that'll make your life easier and your code more powerful. Let's get started!

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

• Go installed on your machine (you're a pro, so I'm sure you've got this covered)
• ConnectWise Manage API credentials (if you don't have these, go bug your admin!)
• Your favorite code editor ready to rock

Setting up the project

First things first, let's set up our project:

mkdir cwm-api-integration
cd cwm-api-integration
go mod init github.com/yourusername/cwm-api-integration

Now, let's grab the packages we'll need:

go get github.com/go-resty/resty/v2
go get github.com/sirupsen/logrus

Authentication

Alright, time to get our hands dirty with some authentication. ConnectWise uses API keys, so let's implement that:

package main

import (
    "github.com/go-resty/resty/v2"
    "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
)

const (
    baseURL = "https://api-na.myconnectwise.net/v4_6_release/apis/3.0"
    companyID = "your_company_id"
    publicKey = "your_public_key"
    privateKey = "your_private_key"
)

func main() {
    client := resty.New()
    client.SetBasicAuth(companyID+"+"+publicKey, privateKey)
    client.SetBaseURL(baseURL)

    // We'll use this client for our API calls
}

Making API requests

Now that we're authenticated, let's make some API calls:

// GET request
resp, err := client.R().
    SetHeader("Accept", "application/json").
    Get("/company/companies")

if err != nil {
    logrus.Fatalf("API request failed: %v", err)
}

// POST request
newCompany := map[string]interface{}{
    "name": "Acme Corp",
    "identifier": "ACME",
}

resp, err := client.R().
    SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/json").
    SetBody(newCompany).
    Post("/company/companies")

if err != nil {
    logrus.Fatalf("API request failed: %v", err)
}

Error handling and logging

Let's add some proper error handling and logging:

if err != nil {
    logrus.WithFields(logrus.Fields{
        "status": resp.StatusCode(),
        "body":   resp.String(),
    }).Errorf("API request failed: %v", err)
    return
}

logrus.Infof("API request successful: %s", resp.String())

Data parsing and manipulation

Time to work with that JSON data:

type Company struct {
    ID         int    `json:"id"`
    Name       string `json:"name"`
    Identifier string `json:"identifier"`
}

var companies []Company
err = json.Unmarshal(resp.Body(), &companies)
if err != nil {
    logrus.Fatalf("Failed to parse JSON: %v", err)
}

for _, company := range companies {
    logrus.Infof("Company: %s (ID: %d)", company.Name, company.ID)
}

Implementing specific API endpoints

Let's create some helper functions for common endpoints:

func getCompanies(client *resty.Client) ([]Company, error) {
    // Implementation here
}

func createTicket(client *resty.Client, ticket Ticket) (Ticket, error) {
    // Implementation here
}

func logTimeEntry(client *resty.Client, timeEntry TimeEntry) error {
    // Implementation here
}

Rate limiting and pagination

ConnectWise has rate limits, so let's be good citizens:

time.Sleep(time.Second) // Simple rate limiting

// Pagination
page := 1
for {
    resp, err := client.R().
        SetQueryParam("page", strconv.Itoa(page)).
        SetQueryParam("pageSize", "1000").
        Get("/company/companies")
    
    // Process response

    if len(companies) < 1000 {
        break // Last page
    }
    page++
}

Testing the integration

Don't forget to test your code! Here's a simple example:

func TestGetCompanies(t *testing.T) {
    client := setupTestClient()
    companies, err := getCompanies(client)
    assert.NoError(t, err)
    assert.NotEmpty(t, companies)
}

Best practices and optimization

• Keep your code modular and well-organized
• Use goroutines for concurrent API calls (but be mindful of rate limits)
• Cache frequently accessed data to reduce API calls

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a ConnectWise Manage API integration in Go. Pretty cool, right? Remember, this is just the beginning. There's a whole world of possibilities with this API, so keep exploring and building awesome things!

Happy coding, and may your API calls always return 200 OK! 🚀